Apparatus for treating twisted filamentary materials



MATERIALS Nov. 2l, 1950 A. H. BURKHOLDER APPARATUS FOR TREATING TWISTEDFILAMENTARY Filed July 16, 1945 ATTORNEY Mm. QM.

Patented Nov. 21, 1950 APPARATUS non TREATING TWISTED FILAMENTARYMATERIALS Alden .Ill Burkhelder, Cleveland, Ohio, assigner te industriell3nt-Qn llcrpnrniinn, Cleveland: Ollie, e' cerncreticn'cf'liclcwereApplication July 16, 1945, Serial No. 605,377

(Cl. ziel-,47)

l Q leiinsf This invention relates te. reducing the liveli: ness. citwisted lamentary materiel in package forni Mere particularly, theinvention provides en nppnrettuswhieh is adapted to subject wound.cylindrical packages cf ,twisted filernentary rneterinl, ese thread erretiny tc the action cf a iiieh frequency electrical field Thecc-ncndine application Serial NQ- 532,740 cf Herden B- Kline ,end AldenBurkhclder, lilctl cn nnrli di., end-"issued es Patent 2,421,334describes generally e process and ap- Pllfdtlis fQ' lleilcifi @helvliless. @i a, Setting the twist,I .ci e lively twisted iileinenterymateriel lcv. ineens' ci e nien frequency electrical held The prece-ss'there. described nier be practiced in. ve.- riciis' Werc- Titus, ferexemple lively twisted filenicnterr ineiericl, e. e, viscose revcn tirecerd.v efter'lc'e'inc itcund en. speel ci bclcnin may be niecedcnen.endless ccnveycr end nested' tlircneh ahigh frequency electricalieldwhich has been created between two'horizontally. positioned electrodes.It has 'been found, however,A that v`when suchspools orwbobb'in's oftire cord are placed on their sides and passed through the highfrequency eld in this form, certain diiculties are sometimesencountered. vDue to the difference in the electrical characteristics,il el, the dielectric loss factor, of the material of which the spoolheads are made as compared with the electrical Achar"- actveristics of`the tire vcord wound on the spool, over-heating ofthe spool headssometimesr occursl This may'resul't in scorching or otherwise dennag-liiie'tlicfsnccl liedde edciiticinillvy the ccrdwccnd on the spooladjacent to the spool head may also be scorched. Sometimesthe endlessconveyor, which is advantageously mede cf e dielectric inetcriel sllclies ccttcn. canvas, tney. else lee subject tlc. Seine degree cf scorchinget the peints where the spool heads come in Contact with it.

This invention provides an apparatus by which the aforo-mentioneddiiiiculties may be largely eliminated. In general, the apparatuscomprises a pair of spaced substantially parallel electrodes connectedto a source of high frequency Power, a conveyor adapted to carrycylindrical yarn or thread packages between said electrodes and meansfor causing said packages while lying on their sides to rotate in thecourse of their passage between the electrodes. More specifically, theap, paratus may include an inclined ramp up which the endless conveyorcarries the spool packages, the conveyor reaching a maximum height at apoint near the middle ofthe electrodes between which the spools arebeing carried. At this middie, point, the endless conveyor follows adescend-` of an apparatus adapted. t0. rotate flanged per ing paththereby causing the yarn packages to roll forward until they are stoppedby means provided on the endless conveyor. In this way the yarn packagesare caused to rotate during the course of the high frequency treatment.

The invention will he described in greater der. tail by reference t0 theaeQlllpanylllg d liiwills i!! which:

Figure 1 is a side eleraticn, partly in sectinn,

ages while reducing the lveliness twisted .illitementary material wcllndon Such packages;

Figure 21s an end elevctien., partly section., cf the apparatus teitenacross, line Zei-.2. df Ele: ure 1.

Fieure 3 is. e partiel plan view ci the feeding end cf the apparatus- Asshown in the drawingy n ndlr cf l-beeinsii ere snnncrted cn wendenineinlcers li et: teched tc Wenden vertical snnpcrtlne nieinbeis lll. AWenden platform i3, rests. unen e substantiel length ef the I-beenislll- This is reinforced tir Wedden eide members il and supports. snbstentinlly cli cf the. superstructure I8 el the uppe-1 ratus.

The. Wenden platform li is substantielle ell ccvered by, snitelcle sheetmetal l5, eer. iluruifv ninth,V which Serves es en elcctricel ccndncterand which is connected to ene-ef the electrcdes ci the apparatus, aswill be hereinafter eiin,inlinedv A Superstructure ccnrprisinc an allrnetnl closure I28 rests upon the metal base I5, being fastened theretoby means of bolts or riyets. The enclosure I8 houses a pair of spacedelectrodes ig and 20 which act as opposite plates of: e cimev denser.The enclosure I8 v is preferably made ot' a, light-,weightcurrent-conducting material, such as aluminum, since it isl included inthe circuit and since it is designed to restrain the straying` of thehigh frequency electrical eld. Side doors 24 extending substantially thelength of the cn.-fv closure I8 are provided to permit ready access., tothe interior of the enclosure. Also, openings I'I are provided in theends of the enclosure fon the entry and exit of the spools 36.

The electrodes or opposite condenser plates I9;

2Il are positioned substantially in the center of? the enclosure I8..Electrode I9. is suspended within the enclosure I8 and it is connectedby a conductor 2| to a source of high frequency powerv The raisedplatform or ramp 25 is supported at either end on wooden supports 26which rest, in turn, on the wooden platform I3. The second electrode 20extends the length and width of the ramp 25 and it is transverselyconnected by aluminum strips 2'I to the metal base I5, the latter beingconnected to the enclosure I8 as previously explained. The electrode 20conforms generally to the contour of the ramp 25 and electrode I9 isgenerally parallel to electrode 20.

The electrodes I9- and 20 are adjustably spaced apart a distance that isslightly greater than the width of the flanges on the spools. Theadjustment for properly spacing them comprises a nonconducting tube 4i]supported in the top of the enclosure IS by means of a head 4|.Electrode or plate I9 is attached to a rod 42 and the latter isconnected to conductor 2|. The rod 42 slides within tube 43 and is heldtherein at a desirable point by means of a set-screw 43.

Electrode I9 is desirably curled at the edges in order to minimize theescape of stray electric currents. Further, electrode I9 is also madesubstantially wider than the combined width of the spools on theconveyor belt. IThis is because some of the field, particularly from theedges of the electrode, strays to be picked up by the enclosure Walls.The straying of the field weakens its intensity at and near theelectrodes edges. By making electrode I9 wider than the width of twospools, the weakened field is thus carried out beyond the anged spoolsand the field through which the spools move is thus of substantiallyequal intensity throughout an area covering the moving spools.

At either end of the enclosure I8 there are afxed extensions 23 to theplatform 25. In substantially the ends of the apron extensions 28 arelocated drums 35 made of a material having suitable frictioncharacteristics, such as wood. An endless belt 3| of non-conductingmaterial such as canvas travels over the drums 35. One of thc drums 30is actuated by means of a chain 32 drivingly connected to a speedreducer 33 driven in turn by an electric motor 34. The endless belt 3|may be of any width desired suitable to the apparatus. Transverse stripsor ribs 35 are positioned at intervals along the belt 3|, being fastenedthereto by means of string or light cord. These ribs are made of asuitable non-conducting material such as wood and their spacing alongthe belt 3| is such as to permit spools, when placed on the conveyor, toroll forward approximately 90 in their passage through the highfrequency electrical field between the electrodes I9 and 23. jIo preventthe transverse strips or ribs from contacting the cross members II, itis desirable to provide a shield 45, preferably of sheet metal andextending substantially the entire length of the I-beams Ill. Theconveyor and its associated cross ribs may then slide along the surfaceof the shield 45.

The ramp 25, it will be noted from Figure l, gradually rises tosubstantially its center within the enclosure I8 and then graduallydrops. This -upward and downward sloping permits the flanged spools 35containing lively twisted filamentary material to rest against thetransversely positioned obstructions or ribs 35 on the conveyor' belt 3|on the way up and then permits the spools to roll forward to restagainst the preceding transversely positioned ribs 35 when the peak ofthe platform has been passed. The amount of angular roll of a spool can,of course, be desirably controlled by the spacing and size of theobstructions or ribs 35. The spools are advantageously car'- riedthrough the enclosure I8 in pairs, the ribs being spaced to accommodateat least two spools yet permit an approximate rotation of the spools.The ribs need not be circular in crosssection, but may be of anysuitable form. Furthermore, they need not necessarily be made of wood,but any suitable non-conducting material, e. g., heavy cord, plastics,etc. may be used.

To facilitate the feeding of spools of thread to the apparatus, there isprovided a loading platform 38 having a slight slope toward the endlessbelt 35. Flanged spools 36 can be placed on this platform in parallelfashion, their position being determined by adjacent parallel runwaysseparated by a partition 46. The spools 36 thus roll forward, in adirected manner, down the runways to the apron of extension 28 and thenonto the endless belt 3|. The spools are picked up by the belt and aremoved therewith by ribs 35 into the enclosure I3 for treatment. Theloading platform 38 extends substantially over the feed end of the drum30 in order that a pair of spools may be picked up by the endless beltbetween successive ribs 35. The spools thus travel in parallel pairsinto the enclosure backed by the transverse ribs. If desired, a tablemay abut the discharge apron or extension 28 for the collection of thetreated spools or the extension itself on the discharge end may beprolonged to permit an accumulation of treated spools.

In the illustration, platform 25 over which the conveyor 3| travels, isshown as initially sloping upwardly to substantially the intermediatepoint of the electrodes I9 and 20, then sloping downwardly thereafter.It may be desirable, under certain conditions, to have the platforminitially sloping downwardly then upwardly. The electrodes in such aninstance can readily be curved to follow such a platform contour, or anyother.

In the foregoing description, flanged packages of lively twisted tirecord have been referred to for purposes of illustration. It is to beunderstood, however, that the apparatus is similarly adaptable to setthe twist on packages not having flanges. Such fiangeless packages,desirably, should be rotated while going through the high frequencyelectrical field in order to prevent the possible scorching of the yarn,and to give a more uniform reduction of the liveliness of the twistedyarn or thread. Additionally it is evident that the material wound onthe core or bobbin may be any lively twisted lamentary material, e. g.,thread, yarn, cord, etc., whether made of natural or artificialmaterials.

By using the apparatus of this invention, overheating and possiblescorching of the heads or flanges of spools having thread or yarn woundthereon is substantially eliminated when such spools are treated whilelying on their side. In addition, over-heating of the yarn is minimizedand the twist of the yarn or thread Wound on the spool is in generalmore uniformly set. Furthermore, damage to the conveyor due toover-heating is also reduced to a minimum.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for subjecting nonmetallic material to the action of a highfrequency electrical eld comprising, a pair of spaced electrodesconnected to a source of high frequency power, a conveyor adapted tocarry cylindrical packages containing nonmetallic material between saidelectrodes, means cooperating with said conveyor for gravitationallycausing the rotation of said packages, said packages resting on theirsides on said conveyor to permit their rotation during the travel of theconveyor between the electrodes, and means on said conveyor for limitingthe rotation of said packages.

2. An apparatus for subjecting nonmetallic material to the action of ahigh frequency electrical field comprising a pair of spaced electrodesconnected to a source of high frequency power, a conveyor adapted tocarry cylindrical packages of said nonmetallic material between saidelectrodes, means cooperating with said conveyor for gravitationallycausing rotation of said packages, said cooperating means comprising a-platform over which said conveyor travels, said platform sloping in theone direction to substantially the center of said electrodes and slopingin another direction thereafter, and means transversely'positioned onsaid conveyor adapted to maintain said cylindrical packages thereon andto limit their rotation.

3. Apparatus for subjecting nonmetallic material to the action of a highfrequency electrical field comprising a pair of spaced electrodesconnected to a source of high frequency power, a conveyor adapted tocarry cylindrical packages of said nonmetallic material between saidelectrodes, means cooperating with said conveyor for gravitationallycausing rotation of said packages, said cooperating means comprising aplatform over which said conveyor travels, said platform slopingupwardly to substantially the center of said electrodes and slopingdownwardly thereafter, and means transversely positioned on saidconveyor adapted to maintain said cylindrical packages thereon, saidmeans being spaced to permit said cylindrical packages to rotateapproximately 90 when substantially the center of the electrodes hasbeen passed.

4. Apparatus for subjecting nonmetallic material to the action of a highfrequency electrical field comprising a pair of spaced electrodesconnected to a source of high frequency power, a conveyor adapted tocarry nonmetallic flanged spools containing said nonmetallic materialbetween said electrodes, means for gravitationally rotating said flangedspools while on said conveyor, said means comprising a platform overwhich the conveyor travels, the platform initially sloping upwardly tosubstantially the center of said electrodes and sloping downwardlythereafter, said electrodes paralleling said conveyor, and meanstransversely positioned on said conveyor and adapted to maintain saidflanged spools thereon, said means being spaced to permit said spools toroll forwardly approximately when substantially the center of theelectrodes has been passed.

ALDEN H. BURKHOLDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,959,390 Smith May 22, 19341,972,489 Rideout et al Sept. 4. 1934 1,998,332 Page Apr. 16, 19352,231,457 Stephen Feb. 11, 1941 2,263,681 Hart Nov. 25, 1941 2,288,268Crandell June 30, 1942 2,343,521 Benning Mar. 7, 1944 2,395,920Grotenhuis Mar. 5, 1946 2,421,334 Kline et al May 27, 1947 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 597,764 Germany May 30. 1934

